


little conversation

by usernicole



Series: Summer Stars [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Homecoming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 16:55:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15147668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/usernicole/pseuds/usernicole
Summary: When they finally descend into Earth’s atmosphere, the sky is alight with color.





	little conversation

**Author's Note:**

> heyo friends here's a very short fic written for a prompt challenge for lance's birthday. i'm going to try and write as many as i can because it's fun and im having a lot of trouble with my longer stuff atm. thanks to all my friends who encouraged me to do this !!  
>    
> [this is the prompt list i found, so all credit and appreciation to the original creator!!](https://twitter.com/lancearchive/status/1013574563743977472)
> 
> title comes from home by one direction, because i'm doing a thing where i try and name all my fics after 1d songs. the first prompt was "earth homecoming." hope u like it!

When they finally descend into Earth’s atmosphere, the sky is alight with color.

Allura gasps, eyes wide and delighted, and Lance can hear Coran oohing and ahhing in the background. Lance finds he can’t bring himself to look away from Red’s viewport and properly appreciate their reactions, however. He’s too busy taking it all in, the sparks bursting in the air like stars, the twinkle of streetlights beneath. 

He can feel his eyes stinging, but he keeps his eyes wide open until they fill with tears, reducing the fireworks to nothing but brightly colored smears. 

Pidge’s sigh is surprisingly whimsical, soft and high-pitched and sounding like that of a girl much younger. Her eyes are wide, though they’re impossible to see with the fireworks glinting off of her glasses. Matt enters view as he tackles her into a hug, ruffling her hair. Hunk is sniffling already, overwhelmed, and a glance at Keith’s communication screen shows a smile that’s wider and brighter than anything any of them had seen from him before. In the background, Lance can hear Shiro say, “Fireworks, huh? Must be a holiday. Does anyone know the date?”

Lance blinks the tears out of his eyes and starts fumbling around his lion’s console. “Wait,” he says. “Let me just--”

He grasps his phone, activating the lockscreen. His hands are trembling, only noticeable as he attempts to read the date on the display, and he clenches his fingers harder to try and stop it.

“It’s the Fourth of July,” he says, and the rest of them erupt into noise, explaining the significance of the date and fireworks to the aliens among them. For once, Lance doesn’t join them, not even when Hunk starts making  _ Independence Day _ jokes, because as the red lion begins her descent, Lance’s phone lights up once more.

Lance stares at it, watches as it automatically connects to the international network grid and a series of connectivity bars fill up one by one. A distant part of him questions how it even still works after so many years away, but the thought is pushed away as the notifications begin pouring in.

It’s a steady stream, one after the other. Push notifications clogging up his lockscreen and obscuring the image there (a selfie he had taken with Hunk and Pidge ages ago, when his only worries had been homework). Social media apps he had actually forgot about light up with likes and recommendations, phone games inform him of new promos and levels. His voicemail fills in an instant. 

Lance can hear the others hailing the Garrison, making contact and ensuring they aren’t shot down. He hears Shiro’s voice catch as he introduce himself as  _ “Captain Takashi Shirogane"  _ and then steady as he goes on to declare them as Voltron. He hears Pidge burst into tears as her dad’s voice comes through the comms, welcoming them back to Earth. It feels like an important moment, like something Lance should be taking in, something memorable. But he’s not paying attention, because he has text messages.

The number goes up so fast Lance can’t possibly comprehend it. It seems like pretty much everyone he knew had messaged him at some point. There are texts from old school friends he had left behind for the Garrison, first questioning then pleading. Starting with “ _ Where are you, man?” _  and ending in “ _ Rest in peace, buddy.”  _ There are texts from classmates he thought had hated him, from extended family he talked to once a year on holidays. There are hundreds of texts from his siblings, from his mom.

“ _ Lance, please where are you????” _

_ “I know you have your phone, you’re practically attached.” _

_ “Everyone is really worried, please respond.” _

_ “We promise we aren’t mad. No one will be mad.” _

_ “Please just come home.” _

Lance feels his breath coming in shallow, feeling like his heart is twisting up his chest and clogging his throat. He’s suddenly and acutely aware of the tension in his shoulders, because the closer they get to the ground the more he can feel them relax. He takes a huge, heaving gulp of a breath and feels his body wind down.

Red sets down gently, paws landing with a heavy thump, and his view of the desert outside of the Garrison is obscured by a cloud of dust. Lance opens the thread of messages from his mom. There are one hundred and thirty-seven of them.

The most recent reads, “ _ I’m so happy you’re okay, mijo. Please come home soon.” _

Lance registers that the communication screens of the others are slowly blinking away as they leave their lions, eager to breathe familiar air, to see familiar stars. Lance reads text messages from his mom.

_ “I miss you so much. Please be okay.” _

_ “Veronica laughed today and it sounded just like you. Love you, mijo.” _

_ “Happy 18th birthday, Lance.” _

Through Red’s viewport, Lance can see the others celebrating down below. Hunk is doing the equivalent of a snow angel in the dirt. Pidge and Matt are spinning in circles, hands clasped together. Coran has a camera in hand, taking pictures of everything he sees like a typical tourist, ignoring Allura and Romelle giggling at him. Keith and Krolia are off to the side, arms around each other and looking into the distance, having what looks like an emotional conversation.

_ “Your sister got married today. We saved a seat for you.” _

_ “You have a brand new niece! I know you will love her.” _

_ “Today I pulled out our old photo albums. You’re so handsome, mijo. Such a beautiful baby. I miss seeing your smile. Come back soon.” _

_ “The therapist said that I should stop sending you messages. She said I need closure. But I don’t want closure, there’s so much I want to say.” _

“Lance?”

Lance jolts out of his daze, dropping his phone in his lap and reaching up to wipe tears away with the sleeve of his jacket. With his vision clear, he sees Shiro standing at Red’s feet, looking up at him with a concerned look on his face. In the moonlight, his white hair looks silver. 

“Yeah?” Lance asks, and his voice is anything but steady. 

“You okay?” Shiro asks. “Are you coming down?”

Lance realizes that it was probably weird for him to not leave immediately like the others, but he can’t really do anything about that. His legs feel too weak to stand, weighed down with Earth’s gravity and his overpowering, crushing relief.

“Yeah,” he says after a moment, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. His phone is still lighting up with notifications. It’s wearing down the battery. “Just...give me a moment.”

Shiro’s frown deepens, but he nods. “Okay,” he says. “Let us know if you need anything.”

Lance hums in response, already turning his attention back to his phone. 

_ “If only I knew you were safe, then I could let myself feel happy without guilt.” _

Lance’s eyes roam over the screen, fingers moving almost reverently as he scrolls. He lets himself sit for a small moment, a blink of an eye, and then he hits the call button.

He brings the phone up to his ear, and outside of his lion he sees Hunk, Pidge, and Matt hugging each other, tears streaming down his face. He sees Shiro approach Keith and Krolia, placing a hand on Keith’s shoulder and smiling at them. He sees the Alteans investigating everything they see, from plants to sky to the distant lights of the nearby town. Fireworks still light up the sky there, red and blue and green. 

The phone at Lance’s ear rings and rings. He holds his breath. There’s a click, and a clattering noise like the phone at the other side of the line had been sitting on something and needed to be picked up.

Lance breathes.

“Mom?”

**Author's Note:**

> u can find me on [tumblr](http://wizzardblizzard.tumblr.com/) and also [twitter!!](https://twitter.com/usernicole) happy july everybody! hope to see u soon


End file.
